The Atlantis Quartet is a musical group established in 2006 in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

History

The Atlantis Quartet was formed in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, after guitarist Zacc Harris moved from Southern Illinois to Minneapolis in 2005 and met drummer Pete Hennnig while playing in an R&B band led by John Starkey.Stewart, Brent. "Homecoming: Zacc Harris Returns to Southern Illinois with Atlantis Quartet." ''The Southern'', 14 Feb. 2008. Web. 14 June 2015.Cazares, David. "Jazz Guitarist Zacc Harris Blends Tradition and Novelty on 'The Garden'" ''MPR News'', 8 May 2012. Web. 20 June 2015. After working briefly as a quintet with a pianist, the group solidified their lineup with reed player Brandon Wozniak and bassist Chris Bates (who replaced Travis Schilling in 2008). They performed regularly at the

Artists' Quarter The Artists' Quarter (a.k.a. the AQ) was a well-known musician-owned and operated jazz club in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities. History The club opened in the early 1970s in Minneapolis, Minnesota at 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue South. ...

and Clown Lounge, toured throughout the midwest (including gigs at The Jazz Showcase and

The Dakota The Dakota, also known as the Dakota Apartments, is a Housing cooperative, cooperative apartment building at 1 West 72nd Street (Manhattan), 72nd Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The Dakota was constru ...

), and performed at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, the Iowa City Jazz Festival, as well as three clubs (L.I.C. Bar, Puppets Jazz Bar, and Miles Cafe) in New York City in 2011. Atlantis Quartet self-released three albums, followed by two more on the Shifting Paradigm record label. The group recorded a live performance at Icehouse in Minneapolis on November 24, 2014 for a planned future release.Oxford, Tracy. "Atlantis Quartet Recording Live At Icehouse." ''Secrets of the City'', 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 20 June 2015. Although their records have focused on original compositions by all four members, from 2008 to 2011 the quartet performed annual Halloween shows in which they interpreted other artists' albums, including '' The Bridge,'' ''

Head Hunters ''Head Hunters'' is the twelfth studio album by American pianist, keyboardist and composer Herbie Hancock, released October 26, 1973, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in the evening at Wally Heider Studios and D ...

,'' '' A Love Supreme,'' and '' Houses of the Holy.''Hobbes, Dwight. "Zacc Harris of the Atlantis Quartet on Jazz, Leaving Wiggle Room, and the Future of the Clown Lounge." ''Twin Cities Daily Planet'', 04 Feb. 2011. Web. 14 June 2015.Robson, Britt. "Four on the floor - With each member contributing songs, the freewheeling Atlantis Quartet is firing on all cylinders." ''Star Tribune:'' 28 Oct. 2011, Metro, Variety: 05E. NewsBank. Web. 14 Jun. 2015.

Style and reception

On Atlantis Quartet's debut album, ''Again, Too Soon,''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

reported that they "create an aura of musical textures that sound as fresh and relevant as they did in

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

' heyday" and while "they're all talented songwriters, attacking their compositions with utmost earnestness...they sound as if they're just having fun."Basiliere, Aaron. "Atlantis Quartet: Again, Too Soon." ''All About Jazz,'' 12 May 2009. Web. 20 June 2015. In a review of their second album, ''Animal Progress,''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

critic Bill Milkowski called the Atlantis Quartet "modern jazz renegades" who "shift nimbly from a punk-jazz aesthetic to ECM-ish sensitivity."Milkowski, Bill. "Jazz Reviews: Animal Progress Atlantis Quartet." ''JazzTimes,'' 1 June 2010. Web. 20 June 2015. Regarding the same album, City Pages writer Rick Mason described "a signature Atlantis sound that taps historic elements like swing, bop, and free jazz while referencing contemporary bits of funk, rock, and world music, then rolls it all into a cohesive bundle of kinetic energy with the visceral allure of intense fireworks and the intellectual challenge of multilayered complexity."Mason, Rick. "Atlantis Quartet: Animal Progress." ''City Pages'', 20 Jan. 2010. Web. 20 June 2015. Of their fourth album, ''Expansion'', MPR's David Cazares wrote that they "deliver rapid-fire licks in complex rhythms and changing tempos, much like the best jazz-rock ensembles of the 1970s."Cazares, David. "Atlantis Quartet Expands Musical Vision on New CD." State of the Arts. ''MPR News,'' 4 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 June 2015.

Awards

McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians, 2015Espeland, Pamela. "4 Musicians/ensembles and 4 Composers Win 2015 McKnight Fellowships." Artscape. ''MinnPost,'' 28 May 2015. Web. 10 June 2015.

Star Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the List of newspapers in the United States, seventh- ...

, Best of Minnesota, 2012
City Pages, Best Jazz Artist in Minnesota, 2011
City Pages, Top 10 Minnesota Albums, 2011
Minnesota Emerging Composers Award, 2010 (Pete Hennig)

Discography

*''Hello Human'' (Shifting Paradigm, 2018) *''x'' (Shifting Paradigm, 2016) digital-only release of complete recordings 2006-2016 *''Expansion'' (Shifting Paradigm, 2013) *''Lines in the Sand'' (2011) recorded live at the

*''Animal Progress'' (2009) *''Again, Too Soon'' (2007)

References

External links

Atlantis Quartet performs in The Current studio
{{Authority control American musical quartets Jazz ensembles from Minnesota Musical groups from the Twin Cities Musical groups established in 2006